((There's just something about a child's spirit that is so simple, pure and innocent and I think that it's something that adults lose touch in sometimes. If we could remember the simplicities of life then maybe our world would seem a little more friendly.))
Denis Diderot once said that, “Only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to (accomplish) great things [1]”. Our passions set our hearts and souls ablaze with a desire and purpose to live and thrive for a specific cause. Through the exploration of our passions, we are forced to look deep into our souls and examine our heart’s deepest aspirations. New sensations and desires emerge in us that we have never experienced before while we are simultaneously converted into the people we are meant to become. We are transformed as much by our passions, as they are transformed by us, and we surrender to them as they take hold of our lives and guide us towards our destiny.
((My Sisters and me as children: Danielle, Adriana, Gabriella from top to bottom)) [1]While I have had an incredibly hard time figuring out what my passion in life is in the past, I have now come to the realization that my passion is none other than life itself. Not only do I possess an incredible yearning to share the joy that I receive through living with the world, but also love to do so through showing compassion to others. Mother Teresa once said that, “Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls. A joyful heart is the inevitable result of a heart burning with love [2]”. It is with children, those who are as full of joy and life as I am, that I am most passionate about and find the most delight in bestowing love upon.
((My niece Lila showing her joy.))[2]Children find satisfaction in the smallest things. They are appreciative of all around them, and love without notion or regret. Every movement and every thought of a child bursts with happiness and life. There is joy in their laughter, enchantment in their eyes, love in their smiles, devotion in their touch, and hope in their existence. They are truly a light and beacon of faith in the dark world of today. By realizing my passion for children, my heart and soul have been ignited with an enthusiastic fervor to shower them with love and provide them with hope towards a better life and future.
((My Family))[3]Growing up in a large family, I have always been surrounded by children ranging from infants to toddlers to teenagers. While I always loved their company, I never really developed an appreciation for the spirit of a child until I was introduced to my nieces and nephews. Although she is only three, my oldest niece, Katherine, embodies everything that a child should be.
((My niece Katherine))[4]She is lively, imaginative, and throws her heart into all that she does. One of the most sincerely affectionate children I know, Katherine cares about all the people in her life and radiates love everywhere she goes. When I look into her eager young eyes, my heart melts and I know in that instant, that I mean the world to someone. To me, Katherine represents all children in the world.
[5]Though they are not all exactly the same, children always remain pure of heart and are grateful even in the most dire of circumstances. Because of her abundant glee and youthfulness, Katherine sparked a need within me to ensure this kind of happiness in all children, and inspired me to start working towards this goal of living a sacrificial life for the needs of others.
After receiving such an epiphany from observing Katherine, I started to try to imitate her actions and exude love with my presence as she did.
((A smile goes a long way))[6]
While I had always smiled everywhere I went, I began to make eye contact with people to ensure they knew it was intended for them. By simply saying hello to someone new at school or offering myself to someone who needed assistance, I began to fill satisfied and redeemed. Expanding on this life change, I commenced on a journey of volunteer work in my community that continued throughout my middle school and high school years. My seventh grade year, my family began participating in a program called Bicycles and Bibles in which we were given the opportunity to provide the children of numerous unfortunate families in our community with an extravagant Christmas celebration.
[7]From the cotton candy and pizza, to Santa Clause and the clowns, to the Christmas decorations and bicycles, each particular element of the festivities was designated to ensure the happiness of the children who attended the event. I have never seen as many thrilled and thankful faces as I did that day, and those faces were a source of unexplainable bliss within me. .jpg)
[8]As my family and I continue to be involved in this event every year, the number of faces of absolute elation and the smiles of utter amusement only continue to grow. Such excitement brought upon by as little as a gift confirmed my previous notions of the innocent charm of children and only left me thirsting for more.As the years went by, I brought my level of volunteering to the next level by actually taking on the role of caretaker. I began to work at the Shorkey Cerebral Palsy Center after school, and offer my assistance to their patients as well as becoming the chairperson of their annual fundraiser.
((A child at the Shorkey Center in Beaumont, Texas))[9]While many of these kids had troubles with everyday things, they still found pleasure in everything they could do such as making Christmas cards and the ability they had left to function. The children’s intelligence shined through in their determination as they attempted the impossible. I remember being amazed by their perseverance and strength at such a young age and their ability to adjust to whatever new and challenging circumstance was put before them. Later, I became a counselor at Camp Waldemar for Girls where my love for children continued to grow.
((My sisters and me when I was a counseor at Waldemar))[10]Taken away from their parents and thrown into a new active environment, these girls often struggled with homesickness and fear. Not once in this uncertainty, however, did they question my capabilities, but immediately accepted me for who I was and loved me for being me. It was quite rewarding to see their confidence grow as they attempted new things and formed new friendships. In both instances of the Shorkey Center and Camp Waldemar, the approval that I was instantly granted gave me further insight into the compassionate nature of a child, and made me want to mimic their actions even more. I received instant gratification from both experiences and knew that children would play a very important role in my life from then on out.
Though I helped with change in my community, I began to wonder if I could make a difference in children’s lives around the world. <
((And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me-Matthew18:5))[11]I never really found an opportunity to do so until I attended Big Stuf camps in Panama City, Florida. There, I was introduced to a program called Compassion International that helps gain sponsorships for children in third world countries around the globe. After much deliberation I decided to sponsor a little girl named Nyamvula Abdala Makami in Kenya. Despite the fact that I never have actually met her, I am blessed through our communication by our letters and am always filled with great contentment to hear what offerings my sponsorship has brought to her life.
[12] Her letters and drawings that I receive burst with the same childlike joy that I have so gratefully experienced in my encounters with children here. Nyamvula attends school and plays with friends in the midst of a country plagued by terrible poverty and war. I am mystified by the fact that such exuberance still exists in a place where people struggle to live each day and such beauty and composure exists in a child of merely eight years of age. I hope to one day get to chance to meet her and plan to go on mission trip to continue my efforts in places outside of my own community.
[13]
[14]My experiences with children have inspired me to try to connect to something greater than myself and offer my entire being to preserving the happiness and lives of others in my community and around the world. Children’s sincerity instills joy in my heart and encourages me to try to view others the way they would perceive them. Their undying devotion to those they love and their constant enthusiasm for any situation heartens my need to stay as optimistic as possible.
((My neice and me))[15]While I often long to return to the bliss and innocence of my childhood, my past is not what lies ahead of me, and I know that I must do everything within my power to defend childhood simplicity for those who are still fortunate enough to have it. Children are the future of our world, the pride of our communities and families, the light in our present darkness, and the everlasting love embedded in our hearts.
((childhood bliss)) [16]Luisa Sigea once said to “blaze with the fire that is never extinguished,[3]” and that is how I plan to continue living out my passion for children in my everyday life, taking the flame from their compassion for others and igniting it with my own.
[17]Word Count Including Quotes: 1,505
Word Count Without Quotes: 1, 461
Text Citations:
[1]- Diderot, Denis. 1796. The Quotations Page
http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/33491.html (accessed February 20, 2008).
[2] -Mother Teresa. ThinkExist.com. http://thinkexist.com/quotation/joy-is-a-net-of-love-by-which-you-can-catch-
souls/535145.html (accessed February 20, 2008).
[3]- Sigea, Luisa. 2003. O Magazine. http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/33491.html (accessed February 20, 2008).
Photo Citations:
[1]- My Sisters and Me. (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYh8T0FsedWQr8SmGHrwMz2vz5e1XZbAVboIQRCjl8hm5AP72EWw5L-VvofzcB6Vrr-h4SlUEO0FF5VU5MoBrYqbAkgt0aSw9IlKDFzZQl0SgVfoHjD-y8B9mqgiHm8FleyKfXORR7G34/
h/Three+Girls+-+baby+bed.jpg).
[2]- Lila. (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_iNi-fFe-vAfoQr7A1mbZrtlamj2g_hJUuLtf-wB2dFp-VvIR5rS_yClxq-NhDVxhITiVaGsc5gmVC7ElOStK2d4JdGt_VB8BggvPF5LnD2MgHKs3VnvPzHLB8Cr7LQfLuD9GSZFl43k/s1600-h/lila.jpg).
[3]- Family. (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeYR-C1uZL919VYC-HTHA4DzVebKtidd86HATcoRBKFU8AF3B-42fNTLX-_-aIjylNTSUiUfTn5Kyu1YzmR0fvv1xOvGlPjD_jtL7GkI-6xqWVZFVdUfvln1qE20TesdHoTRaeOe-TmN8/
h/Christmas+06+001.JPG).
[4]-Katherine. (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-X93u7PIi5aQjLG3Nvzm5gvxmxs6jKfXQOwBFoczGcjYs20vcuR6PwEFfnrNAIwPvr65caf1f29CvUb56x8FyqBgm51N0Vazp86yeodMSvV5BG5dXtpatugbyegFZ63TqoA-gRrS-4sY/s1600-h/get-
attachment.aspx.jpg).
[5]- Happy Children. http://www.mama-children.org/english/images/Happy-children.jpg).
[6]- Laughing Child. (http://www.liquidelearning.com/uploaded_images/child-laughing-sxc-732315.jpg).
[7]- Present. (http://www.demossnewspond.com/occ/photos/2003Distributions/Cambodia0401DL-E174.jpg).
[8]- Santa. (http://www.nwl.co.uk/Santa_and_child_(WEB).jpg).
[9]- Cerebral Palsy. (http://cerebralboy.com/cp/pics/micahinpool.jpg).
[10]- Waldemar. (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj18I8q0mw9fCH3F2X8KIJveh9DEcf5yYLWP2uq4YgwO65dvQf8DPouR1B7EvDq6sNLLKA8mOA-rREZ7f2rNJ4EwMiLXY2xS723ZrgPpnNbZt25KmSJMelu3hqaUZklQ1aCN0nwIKczlxM/
h/Waldemar+002.JPG).
[11]- Matthew 8:15. (http://www.savethechildren.ca/canada/media/images/resources/Children_Garissa.jpg).
[12]- Kenyan Children. (http://www.shonda.org.uk/images/homepage-3.jpg).
[13]- Joy. (http://www.llandudnochurches.org.uk/ugandaB7A.jpg).
[14]- Happiness. (http://cache.viewimages.com/xc/3316965.jpg?
v=1&c=ViewImages&k=2&d=11B127B063386F6137B9C905704A1438A55A1E4F32AD3138).
[15]- Danielle and Lila. (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD41y_q2sQVVIjz5kkmA4L4t69V42LupbhJYE8fj2mRrZZ1i0peMveKkid3YEwE3AiYdXI8jRsB_3u2e4Gz6Bxfm_zQd0LywVn1Ui8KYCX7ayF1Ijlr0ByaiNlDUyVA1uz3GVTyhGPj1U/
h/Danielle+%26+Lila.jpg).
[16]-Childhood Bliss. (http://sethar.files.wordpress.com/2006/11/childhood-innocence.jpg).
[17]-Candle. (http://www.cardsunlimited.com/largeimage/Candles.jpg).
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